I have a clutch problem on a manual tranny PLZ HELP my wife may lose her job!?

Question

I have a 97 GMC sonoma. I have light pressure on the clutch pedal. No signs of leaks externally. I can still start the truck with the pedal pushed in. I can shift with the truck off, and on start it will move. its a 4 cyl, and i also noticed that if that truck is running, if i pull real hard on the stick shift, the truck will move somewhat...

Answer 1

If the pedal has excessive travel with little or no resistance and then right before it hits the floor you feel pressure then just bleed the system....but be careful that you dont let air into it by bleeding too much fluid out without adding more. Follow the mechanic for 20 years instructions on finding the bleed valve...but if you know where the transmission is then the bleed valve should be located on the slave which is a cylindrical object on the side of the transmission up by the bell housing (the big round part that hooks to the engine) easiest way is to have your wife slowly mash the clutch pedal while you loosen the bleed valve (which is a small bolt with a nipple on it) then hold the pedal while you tighten it again. You will know if you are having air come out of the system as it will sputter some like a garden hose when you first turn it on. keep your eye on the reservoir up under the hood and dont let the levels get low. do this over and over until nothing but a stream of fluid comes out and you should be fine. get in and pump the pedal a few times and check it out.

Answer 2

not sure if GM is like Honda with a pressure plate adjustment bolt on the clutch cable or not. Follow the clutch cable under the hood till it heads down for the bottom of the engine compartment. should encounter a brace somewhere that is holding it. either look for a plastic spin screw that you can do by hand or see if there are 2 nuts backed together....one is a lock nut, one is adjustment.

sounds like clutch needs serious adjustment or clutch itself is burned up. needs new pressure plate, throw out bearing, etc. You mention 1997 so I am sure she is near or over 100,000 miles....and if you never have done a clutch job on her yet....then I would easily bet this is the problem.

Answer 3

It sounds like both the grab draw close cylinder or the grab slave cylinder. at the same time as the reservoir is going empty, it does introduce air into the gadget which makes the grab no longer disengage precise. yet you should ask, what made it bypass empty? you may want to commence with the aid of refilling the reservoir, bleeding the grab hydraulic gadget, then wait to work out what takes position, yet danger is, between both aspects (draw close cylinder or slave cylinder) brought with regard to the challenge contained in the first position. there is the potential of a leak in a line, even if it is quite uncommon.

Answer 4

do the easy ones first, add brake fluid to the clutch slave cylinder reservoir, then try bleeding the cylinder, if this solves the problem, then it reoccurs, that meand your slave cylinder need a rebuild kit, which is seals and spring, no big cost. if not then the cluch plate and bearing must get replaced.

Answer 5

NOT SURE ABOUT THE YEAR BUT IT HAS A HYDRAULIC CLUTCH SO IT HAS A CLUTCH SLAVE CYLINDER. IT LOOKS LIKE A MASTER CYLINDER AND IS LOCATED IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT .YOU NEED TO FIND IT FOLLOW THE LINE DOWN TO YHE TRANNY AND BLEED IT,JUST LIKE BLEEDING YOUR BRAKES BUT ITS 10 YEARS OLD AND SOUNDS LIKE YOUR CLUTCH DISK AND THROW OUT BEARING ARE SHOT .START IT UP AND REALLY TRY TO GET IT TO MOVE IF IT DOESNT AND YOU GET A FUNNY SMELL LIKE HOT BRAKES,YOUR CLUTCH IS SHOT. SORRY IF ITS BAD NEWS

Answer 6

Its your clutch master or slave cylinder. Its a tough job to change the slave.

Answer 7

i think you have air in the breaking system you need to ventilate the system it takes 2 persons to do that. if you have any problems don't hesitate to contact me